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With remarkably instinctive deftness, the Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Andrew Litton provides a welcome gift for all opera lovers [La Cour de Célimène] who have an interest in unexplored, completely forgotten finds. The recording has fire, drive and brilliance.

Litton, who conducted Tchaikovsky's [4th] symphony without a score, knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it, shaping a red-blooded account full of big gestures, muscular brass, sweeping curtains of strings, quick boiling climaxes and many well-judged shifts in tempo. The orchestra responded with a chiseled, rhythmically secure sound, and...the blaze of brass that brought the symphony home.

Classic FM's May 2008 Disc of the Month. And so to Tchaikovsky's [Violin] Concerto, where any addition to the plethora of available recordings needs to be special to command attention — and this is the one. Litton's Bergen Philharmonic is exquisitely detailed from the opening bars; "They sincerely want to play music in the best possible way" says [Vadim] Gluzman of its players, hailing its conductor as "absolutely sensational". While Litton keeps things opaque and tight when required, at the right moments he pulls irresistibly at the concerto's tempi and unleashes considerable tutti power, never foregoing detail.

The real highlight of the evening – perhaps unexpectedly – was the performance of Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 4. Litton's championing of English music has rarely been heard to better effect. The insistent force of the music was given its head and, as always, Litton encouraged self-assured playing from the BBCSO, which produced a splendidly bronzed, brass-heavy, rather American sound for him.

Vaughan Williams's Fourth Symphony is an image-buster in itself, blasting away fluttering larks with an opening that seems to spring from the middle of something tortured by Shostakovich. Litton, a US champion of UK music, launched the orchestra fearlessly at this restless score, with only the gleaming flute solo of the second movement providing real repose...Litton knows how to make a loud orchestra sound good, and the BBCSO, playing together with almost percussive accuracy, were on top form for him.

Dvořák cello concerto definitely first rate...Zuill Bailey coaxed from his instrument a complex, multi-hued voice, particularly warm in its upper register. Litton drew complementary colors from the [Minnesota] orchestra, giving his marvelous principals plenty of latitude in their telling dialogues with the cello.

For sheer fiery virtuosity this version of the Tchaikovsky [violin] concerto is pretty hard to beat. Gluzman's passage work in double-stops is jaw-droppingly spectacular...He's pretty remarkable elsewhere too; the first movement has plenty of Romantic passion, aided by Litton's eruptive orchestral tuttis.

According to locals, Bergen...has never before experienced opera at the international level of this Carmen...Good as the singing was, a major share of the credit goes to the Bergen Philharmonic, which played gorgeously under Litton. Demonstrating a thorough command of the inner workings of the piece, Litton often opted for spacious tempos, but they never lacked for dramatic tension.

The Norwegians' range of sound and color -- from the whole orchestra, not just the strings -- paid off in the whole symphony (Tchaikovsky's 4th), especially the way conductor Andrew Litton marshaled it all. With so much sound at his disposal, Litton made the lyricism rich and big-hearted.

....the orchestra showed off its power with an impressive reading of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. The sheer volume of sound from the Bergen Philharmonic was stunning with sturdy brass-laden climaxes in the first and fourth movements that made one forget how difficult the Carr auditorium can be for some ensembles. In fact, just the string section alone of this orchestra had one of the richest and fullest ensemble sounds this reviewer has ever heard in the Carr. Instead of heading for the exits after the encore, as Carr crowds usually do, the audience gave one of the longer ovations in recent memory for any orchestra. It was well deserved.

...the Bergen Philharmonic played with an unusual solidity and warmth, and produced a breadth of color that gave it a distinctive sonic thumbprint. Some of that, clearly, was Mr. Litton’s work. Mr. Litton’s reading (of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony) had the virtues of supremely polished surfaces with raw, often savage emotion swirling just beneath them.

Elgar’s Symphony No 2, received a comparably tradition-minded, blazingly vivid performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Andrew Litton in its second Festival Hall concert this season.

The LPO apparently, hadn’t played the [Elgar's Second Symphony] for 20 years, yet Litton, who received the Elgar Society’s Medal at the end of the evening, drew deep, instinctive breathing and mercurial responses from the players, with the elegiac heart of the work most beautifully paced.

A sell-out had greeted the Bergen Philharmonic on its impressive Proms debut with Andrew Litton... with an outstanding account of Walton's First Symphony. Litton's wonderfully mobile account, propelled on perfectly articulated bass lines, was less aggressive than many, but still tense and well-judged.

Refusal to dally heralded Litton's absolutely electric interpretation of Walton's Symphony no.1, teeming with urgency, and with clear, transparent textures reflecting the composer's gaunt, biting lines. The sustained energy of the first movement found release in an irrepressible audience "bravo" at its conclusion, though tension never really totally disappeared . . . the finale drew together all the threads convincingly under Litton's perceptive direction.